DETROIT — Nets fans expecting mayor-elect Eric Adams — one of their own — to step in and help get Kyrie Irving back on the court are in for a disappointment.
Adams — the former Brooklyn borough president, and an unabashed Nets fan — calls Irving the piece his team needs to win its first NBA title. But he said he has no intention of loosening the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates to let Irving play while unvaccinated, and added this a matter for the star and the league to hash out.
“Let me tell you something, I’m a Nets fan, Brooklyn Nets, and I love Kyrie. I think he’s a piece we need for the championship,” Adams said Friday night on CNN. “This is something that the NBA has made an agreement if they’re going to perform in the city this is an agreement they made.
“I believe that it’s up to the NBA and Kyrie to come to an understanding of how they’re going to get through this. And I believe they can come to a resolution.”
Adams has expressed similar faith in Irving eventually getting back on the court. He said just don’t expect him to broker any deals, or bend any rules.
Irving has refused to adhere to the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates, so is barred from playing at home. The Nets shelved the All-Star altogether until he’s fully eligible, either through getting vaccinated or the city lifting its mandate.
If Adams does end the mandate when he takes office Jan. 1, it’ll be because the science dictates it, not because of the furor over Irving’s absence.
“The NBA says it’s the rule in New York City, and they’re simply obeying what New York City has ruled. And New York City is not going to change their rule,” Adams said. “And again, it’s up to the NBA and Kyrie Irving to [come to] a full understanding on how to keep him on the Nets and continue to look at all of our athletes that are coming here. And again I think the NBA and Kyrie will come to a conclusion on this work something out.”
Asked after the Nets win over the Pistons on Friday night about mayor-elect Adams’ comments, head coach Steve Nash said that was precisely what he had anticipated.
“My reaction is no surprise. I didn’t expect the mayor to change the mandate,” Nash said. “We’ve just got to focus on our team. If we could have Kyrie back we’d all be ecstatic. But we focus on our team, we keep building, we keep growing and hopefully we’ll be a really good team at the end of the year.”